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Bible Q

What is the Book of Jasher?

There are at least three “book of Jasher” (Hebrew: book of the upright) the Book of the Upright – a lost book of Hebrew poetry cited twice in the Old Testament Sefer haYashar – a Hebrew-language forgery published in Venice in 1625 by Yosef ben Samuel Book of Jashar – an English language forgery published […]

Are there contradictions in the different gospels’ accounts of the visit of the women to the tomb?

In answer to this question here are chapters 239-242 of Studies in the Gospels by Harry Whittaker:   http://www.christadelphianbooks.org/haw/sitg/index.html   239. “At the Rising of the Sun” (Matt. 28:1-4; Mark 16:1) It is no easy matter to harmonise the gospel narratives in their accounts of the visits to the tornb, and of the appearance of […]

Why are there four gospels?

There are at least three ways of approaching this question. First a simple functional approach, driven by the likely intended audience of each book. Secondly a text-critical approach which seeks to relate the three synoptic gospels as we have them to lost oral and written material such as ‘Q’, and so on. Thirdly an exegetical […]

Why are The Words of the Wise (Proverbs 22:17-23:10) based on the ancient Egyptian Instruction of Amenemope?

An undisputed fact It has been known since 1923 that Proverbs 22:17-23:10 is based on passages from an ancient Egyptian wisdom text, the Instruction of Amenemope. This undisputed fact is found in all reliable Bible commentaries. For example: Erdmann’s Commentary on the Bible (2003) The source Egyptian text is usually dated circa 1300-1100 BCE, a […]

Where will the “judgement seat” be when Jesus returns?

Judgement when Jesus returns There are many passages in the Bible indicating a judgement when Jesus returns to the earth as king. It is also mentioned that the judgement will be of the living and the dead. A specific “judgement seat” (in Greek, bema) such as Pilate sat upon when he brought Jesus out and […]

Is Paul’s “I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man” (1 Timothy 2:12) only for Ephesus?

The full text is as follows: 8 I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarrelling; 9 likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, 10 but with what is proper for women who profess […]

Was Junia a female apostle? (Romans 16:7)

The question is a grammatical one, although the grammar cannot solve it as the construction is fundamentally ambiguous grammatically, in Greek as in English: Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. (Romans 16:7, KJV) 16:7 ἀσπάσασθε Ἀνδρόνικον καὶ Ἰουνίαν […]

What happened to the 10 “lost tribes” of Israel?

This question has its roots in a historical event – the destruction of Samaria and conquest of the Northern Kingdom of Israel by the Assyrians in 722 BCE.   The deported, those who remained, and those who fled to Judah The 10  tribes in the Northern Kingdom were: Reuben, Simeon, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, […]

What does the New Testament say about praying to Jesus?

This is an awkward question because the answer is basically “nothing”. The New Testament teaches prayer to God: In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. (John 16:23) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every […]